


Shattered Peaks

by callmeflo



Series: if Wishes were Irises [10]
Category: Those Who Went Missing
Genre: Gen, and saves all the shrines!!, flicker makes friends, mountains biome event
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-01-20
Updated: 2019-02-07
Packaged: 2019-10-13 07:57:13
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 4
Words: 6,402
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17484206
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/callmeflo/pseuds/callmeflo
Summary: Before her is a path, just about distinguishable from the thick jungle foliage, and so she walks onward up the mountain.





	1. Beneath the Canopy

When Flicker realises that her relaxed trot has become a rushed sprint with eyes squinting against the sting of fast wind and her long tail flailing out behind her like a kite, she is already surrounded by forest. It’s a day for long walks with the sun shining down upon her fur and a faint cool breeze to keep the temperature comfortable, and she had planned to spend it along the pebble beaches of some western coast. Somewhere between dancing along the edge of a sheer cliff line and the crests of frothing waves she paddles through, the beckoning of magic had caught her mind. Subtle at first with such a distance between them, but now, standing amidst a jungle she’d never stepped foot in before, it was obvious and stronger than any had ever been before: the call of the lost, a plea for help.

Above her, the fronds of a tall, skinny tree filter the sun into a trickle instead of the sweltering direct heat she hadn’t noticed creep up on her. The ground is dark dirt and damp under her paws, covered in most places by lush grass and twisting roots, then bushy ferns, and flowering plants with wide, waxy leaves. From the treetops, each higher than the last as they fight for the best sunlight, hang creeping plants and vines tangled into thick ropes.

It is beautiful and otherworldly, a paradise so few get to see in their lives. And it is not still or silent at all - creatures are everywhere, birds in groups or pairs swooping about beneath the leafy canopy and hopping from branch to branch, calling out in squawks and trilling song; there are curious eyes of monkeys peering down from behind tree trunks as their dexterous fingers peel fruits from the pods they grow in, chattering like gossiping teenagers; the long, sibilant hiss of a camouflaged snake blends in with the buzz of insects, other lizards flicking out their tongues and stepping silently over rocks; and well hidden, the stalking predator that creeps through the underbrush on soft paws, tail twitching and ears focused on its prey. She doesn’t know where in the world she is, but the complete lack of machinery and human language indicates it being well out of the way, that she must’ve run for miles before coming back to herself.

Before her is a path, just about distinguishable from the foliage, and so she walks onward. The magic swirls in the breeze and presses against her hind end, urging her forwards, and she stumbles up the rough terrain. There’s worry niggling at the back of her mind, for whatever is waiting for her at the end of this frantic journey in such peril that it calls her from so far away, but she is calm and collected as always as she pads on.

A few minutes later, she comes to a meeting point of four paths; three are close together coming from the same general direction, and the other heading off northwards and the obvious path for continuing. A noise stops her before she does so, and from between the leaves of a thick fern stumbles another esk.

It’s a fungi esk, evident by their nubby toes and tail, small size, and the cluster of mushrooms at the wither. Their short fur is a pale cream with plum striping around the neck, and their black eyes are wide with wonder when they lock on to Flicker’s own dark irises.

“Hello!” they exclaim, pattering forward on stubby legs.

Flicker’s eyes and heart soften, and she bends a foreleg to crouch at the other esk’s level. “How lovely to meet you,” she replies kindly. “Have you been drawn here from far away too?”

The little esk puffs up their chest and then slumps, dramatically worn out. “ _So_ far!” Suddenly upright again, they leap forwards and scramble up the larger esk’s lowered side. “Perhaps you’ll allow me a ride? I’m very good company, and I’m certain that with my help we can solve this mystery!”

Flicker allows it with a smile, shrugging to shuffle the fungi into prime position between her gold speckled shoulder blades where her huge iris usually sits. It’s long since budded and curled away, settling deep in her spirit until she returns to her home biome, but she isn’t unsettled by the temporary loss.

“By all means, then,” she begins to answer, but before she can finish, another blur of pale fur flings itself from the dewy vegetation and bumps right into Flicker’s ankle. At a similar size to the first, this esk barely reaches her hock and stares up at her with wide eyes. Their tail is ringed with dark grey and on their head is a single, vibrant purple petal.

“Oh, do excuse me!” they gasp, and then with realisation, “You must have felt the magic as well, hm?”

“Well hello there, and you’re right. Would you like to hop on too?”

The tiny white spirit brightens and nods frenziedly, and then uses the offered paw to step on up. They plop themself down side by side with the other, leaving their sooty tail to hang down and tickle Flicker’s ribs.

They can’t hang about long with their very beings being tugged onward by the nose and pushed along by the wind. Flicker sets off at a brisk lope of rhythmic pawsteps, jostling her passengers as little as possible. The esk with a backpack of oyster mushrooms introduces himself as Button, and the other is Cirocco with his beret of alpine dog violet.

The quest is long and not so easy, the bigger esk having to pick her way along the overgrown trail whilst dodging vines, boulders, and other obstacles, and the little ones having to hold on tight as they get bounced around. It leads up a steady incline that gradually steepens. Once the treetops begin to thin, they catch glimpses of distant rocky spires barely visible for all the mist hanging around them, and Cirocco’s flower unfurling a second, third, forth, and finally fifth petal are evidence that the jungle path is leading up the side of a mountain. The humidity slowly clears from the thinning air, and then the sun starts lighting up wisps of cloud hanging about the tree trunks.

Button gets bored and restless after a short time, especially when their destination gets close. He plays word games with the intelligent violet esk, losing more often than not but making up for it with his enthusiasm. But the magic swells and calls out to them clearer and clearer, thrusting its urgency at their minds until it’s all they can focus on and Flicker breaks into a bounding run for the final stretch.

Abruptly, the rainforest around them is silent and solemn, feeling weak and sluggish. The ferns brown, the trees drooping and lifeless, and the animals noiseless or absent.

Before them stands a huge, ancient tree, it’s elderly trunk a braid of twirling bark patterns that clings to the ground with a hundred meandering roots. It too is dulled, the leaves wilted, ground cracked and dry around its base. And there, between two thicker roots, is a delicately placed shrine, ornamental and beautiful. The rocks that make up the altar are carved by claw or knife in curls and symbols, each glowing weakly with a spark of the magic that had pulled the fellowship of esk all this way. The centre, a smoothed circle that all the markings draw the eye to, is empty.

Button and Cirroco slide down from their seat and peer out from between Flicker’s forepaws. It’s their low view point that allows them to notice the token, knocked to the floor from its pedestal and cracked apart.

“What do we do?” asks Cirocco. “It’s very badly broken.”

Button huffs and uses his soft paws to nudge the pieces together. “We have to fix it, of course! We didn’t come all this way for nothing!”

The shrine seems to appreciate the fungi esk’s determination, and it lets out one last wishful plea. The three esk press their noses to the stone shards, scrunch their brows in concentration, and then coloured streams of magic flow out to surround the broken figurine. A touch of telekinesis lifts it back into its rightful place, and then the trio let out contented breaths as the repaired monument releases a pulse of warm light and energy. The surrounding foliage blooms back into life, leafy stems and feathery ferns standing tall and green once more, the tree the shrine leans on regaining a healthy aura. They hadn’t realised how smothering the air up here had felt, but now everything nearby breathes easier.

“Perfect,” Flicker praises, gazing proudly at the grey stone red panda, the lines where it had been broken freshly sealed with a glowing gold magic. It stands out even against the lively, colourful mountain jungle, which shines with renewed life.

Cirocco takes a moment to appreciate his biome, jumping across exposed roots and branches of the great tree in search of the best view; the jungle below is sprawling and near endless, swooping down misty valleys and peaking on hills and smaller mountains, and he gazes at it from every angle in reverence. Flicker takes the time to assist Button on the search for a souvenir, offering him curled twigs and rattling seeds, and then a toucan joins in and finds a striped pebble that matches the colour of Button’s fur. The little esk promises to cherish it forever.

The group gathers again, climbing into place on Flicker’s brown back ready to go - discussing about how it was such an exciting quest, saving the mountain like heroes, and it’s still only early so perhaps they’ll just explore for a few more hours - when a low hanging cloud drifts down around them and their eyes go fuzzy and they stumble dizzily...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Base Score: 32 AP (Writing: 1649 words)  
> +5 AP (Personal Work Bonus)  
> +20 AP (Other Esk Bonus: 10 AP * 2)  
> +25 AP (Event Bonus)  
> +30 AP (Esk Interaction Bonus: 10 AP * 3)  
> +16 AP (Storyteller Bonus: 8 AP * 2)  
> Total AP per submission: 128
> 
> Base Score: 16 GP (Writing: 1649 words)  
> +12 GP (Event Bonus)  
> +12 GP (Storyteller Bonus: 6 GP * 2)  
> Total GP per submission: 40
> 
> 5AP/2GP biome bonus   
>  15AP/8GP quest bonus   
>  5AP/2GP challenge bonus


	2. Where the Clouds Fade

The fog wrapping around their minds and eyes dissipates rapidly but the scene revealed is barely any different. The horizon in the distance is indistinguishable from the cloud covered sky, and the land nearer to Flicker’s feet is equally white. The daylight glares off the thick layer of snow in an attempt to blind them and the three spirits have to squint against it - and against the wind, which is piercing in its speed and chilliness as it howls and whips around their prone forms. The fungi on Button’s back shrivels down to nothing in this barren biome. He and Cirocco hunker down, burying their toes and noses in Flicker’s long mane as it flutters wildly, and the brown esk plants her paws deep and spread apart to keep from being swept away by the gale.

It takes a moment for her dark eyes to adjust. The stark whiteness retreats to show specks of grey, and the greyscale blur then manifests itself into snow tipped mountain peaks. The group of esk are stood at the tip of one of the tallest summits around, and there are many to compete with - it’s an entire mountain range that spans the panoramic view. The sky isn’t as overcast as it first appeared, the clouds thin and wispy and giving way to an azure sky that contrasts beautifully with the dark rock spires that spear out from the blanket of windswept snow.

With the surprise of their sudden transportation ebbing away, they can easily appreciate the beauty of the location. All three gaze around at the breathtaking view, capturing the memory. But the breeze is icy on their short furred cheeks, and the little esk soon curl themselves up beneath Cirocco’s long tail and Flicker is urged to move.

The lure signalling them forwards is familiar, the same energy that the shrine they’d just been whisked away from had produced. Up so high from sea level and buffeted by visible winds, the magic here swirls amongst the air in ribbons of colour; blues, greens, and the occasional iridescent gleam of pink to mimic the Aurora Borealis that must dance across these skies at nightfall. As before, the spirits cannot refuse the call, and they set off on their quest, pushed along by insistent magic.

The mountains are packed closely together and, in the valleys where their sides meet, snow and rocks dislodged from higher up have gathered to create overpasses. The earth is well hidden except on the steepest slopes, which the esk must climb at parts. Flicker’s delicate paws slip and slide on the smooth rock faces as she scrambles for purchase in any tiny crack. She is able to walk up on the surface of the snow banks when they’re sheltered by an overhang, but out in the open the gusts of air would quickly have them tumbling, and there is no lack of sharp drop offs to fall from.

Pine trees grow sparsely across the mountain range, clusters huddling together in the lower creases, just a few brave stragglers out in the open. Flicker passes by a few that must’ve grown for years in a sheltered spot before the rocks gave way under the weight of endless snow and slid away - now, exposed, they are crooked and grotesque from growing in the directions the wild wind has pushed and pulled their spindly tops. Flicker can feel herself sympathising as she braces her head against the gusts and steps agonisingly slowly on stiff legs.

Button’s fidgety impatience has shifted to shivers and whining, but courageously peers out between Flicker’s mane and offers directions to visible rough rocks that offer better traction. Cirocco’s nose hasn’t budged from under her soft, warm tail, but her eyes are ever searching for the source of the magic that ushers them along unsteadily.

Finally, they see it: a few hundred metres ahead, up the side of a gently sloping peak, is a dark patch indicating a sheltered cave. From within it comes the swirling colours that mix with the wind, and a quiet voice that cries out to them.

“It must need our help badly,” suggests Cirocco, “to have called us all this way, through this weather.”

Button agrees. “Though I don’t know why anyone would want to live here permanently!”

Flicker hops to it, bounding the last incline easily with the strengthening magic at her back. “Let’s get it fixed up quickly and find our way home again,” she says hopefully.

The shrine is pale stone this time, but still carved with runes that pulse weakly. On the pedestal is a single chip of dark, polished rock, curved and pointed at one end like a horn, and similar parts are scattered at their feet.

Cirocco jumps up to the shrine’s side and perches pointedly on the flat top, taking charge. “Button, you hand me each piece and I’ll fit them together while Flicker has a rest after that horrid journey!”

The little fungi esk skitters down to the cold floor and salutes seriously. His stubby paws collect the ornament piece by piece to be sent up to his friend with a slap shot of telekinesis, where the white spirit shuffles them about and slots them together, swishing his drooping violet from his eyes periodically.

Flicker sighs a deep sigh from her sprawling position at the edge of the cave. Her paws are stinging from the cold but she manages to flick her tail about behind her, swatting the nearby snow aside to reveal the last few pieces of the puzzle for Button to collect.

“A-ha!” crows Cirocco minutes later, and following quickly comes a bright glimmer of the northern lights magic, flickering like a flame, before dimming once more to only shine from the carved symbols and remaining chips and cracks on the token. Complete, it forms a hairy yak that stands proudly upon its shrine.

“Good job, guys,” Flicker compliments, rising to her feet as Cirocco leaps down from her perch. Button cheers and dances about, as if the warmth has renewed his excitement and energy for the quest. The world outside seems to feel the same - the relentless wind calms suddenly to gentle swirls of loose snow, the twisted krummholz stretches their branches out in relief from the pelting weather, and life sprouts from their hiding places under the snow in winter flowers, new green growth, and twitching noses of animals.

The three esk shake snowflakes from their fur as they emerge from the cave. Their second task is complete and they saved the mountain from its desolate end, and so, triumphantly, they begin their walk back down with gusto. The two dainty spirits chase each other up the branches of a nearby tree for a better view of the tranquil landscape, and Flicker spots Button plucking a tiny, beautifully formed pine cone from above his head to take home with him.

They haven’t even passed through the low hanging clouds before an odd feeling tickles against the backs of their minds, and they quickly come together again as it builds into a pulsing, pulling feeling, familiar to them in the same way that the shrine’s magic was, and then two beats pass and all at once they’re -

Gone.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Base Score: 24 AP (Writing: 1211 words)  
> +5 AP (Personal Work Bonus)  
> +20 AP (Other Esk Bonus: 10 AP * 2)  
> +25 AP (Event Bonus)  
> +30 AP (Esk Interaction Bonus: 10 AP * 3)  
> +8 AP (Storyteller Bonus: 8 AP * 1)  
> Total AP per submission: 112
> 
> Base Score: 12 GP (Writing: 1211 words)  
> +12 GP (Event Bonus)  
> +6 GP (Storyteller Bonus: 6 GP * 1)  
> Total GP per submission: 30
> 
> 5AP/2GP biome bonus   
>  15AP/8GP quest bonus   
>  5AP/2GP challenge bonus


	3. Where the River Ends

The change from sweltering, humid jungle to the bitterly cold, snow splattered mountain peaks was extreme even to a spirit’s body; the equator’s heat had dragged down their fur and made each step tiring on the uphill trek, and then the high altitude’s thin air had them weak and slow within the snowstorm that battled them every step of the way. This time it is the same, from the fresh, icy cold of the mountain summit to the lowest depths of a ravine, once more by the equator but desert instead of rainforest, the hot air sizzling but bone dry. The near silent whistle of the snowy wind is replaced by tinkling of shifting grains, and whooshing waves as bigger parts of dunes are swept to and fro. Flicker is tired, and the sun’s heat pounding down on her fur refuses to let up.

They are slightly shaded where they landed, down the bottom of a canyon’s crevice where the sandy earth had split apart long ago, and the gentle light is a blessing after the snow blindness. It looks to be a long fissure, both directions winding out of view and appearing endless, and there’s no escape in sight: the walls either side of them are sheer and vertical, towering over them and reaching right into the flamboyant sunset above. They’re jagged and craggy with a lack of rainfall beating upon them to smooth the rough edges, but not pockmarked enough to climb, and there are no natural stairways visible. If an animal found its way down here, it would be a long walk to freedom.

The colours are beautiful, all reds and golds and yellows creating stripes across the sides of the canyon, with an abundance of fossil patterns etched and embossed at varying heights. Where the waning light hits, the sand gleams and glistens, the brilliant hues of the rocks made even more vibrant as the sunset’s purples and pinks swirl upon each surface.

The golden hour’s sky is reflected in the clear blue water that swirls hundreds of feet below it. The shallow, trickling river snakes it’s way through the cavernous gorge, tumbling over the rocks and chips of sandstone that have fallen to the bedrock in its way. It looks out of place amongst the gritty sand, but it has made itself at home and brought with it life: at the edges grow tufts of grass and weeds, tough little flowers that soak up the copious sunlight, and the occasional tree, withered in appearance with its roots grappling at the solid, damp ground but green in its leaves that reach upwards. Other saplings look almost dead, just twiggy sticks bleached by the glare of the sun. Cacti are scarce down in these depths, but there are clusters of soft leafed succulents sprouting from patches of sand, some displaying magnificent blooms.

“Third time’s the charm,” comments Cirocco, grumpy from the long journey. But he can’t remain contrary at the sight of the pretty landscape, even just what they can see from their enclosed perspective. He balances on a rough boulder near the middle of the river, water splashing up at his paws, and gazes out to inspect each direction. His violet bonnet is still in bloom among these sandstone mountains.

Meanwhile, a tug on Flicker’s mane indicates Button climbing up for an equal vantage point. His fungi backpack is still hidden away just like her own bearded iris, both lacking in power away from their home biomes, and in its place are the two souvenirs he’d picked up previously. The pebble shines in the low lighting like it’s hiding a gem.

“I’ve never been to the desert,” Flicker muses, sifting a handful of sand through her soft toes. “I think I’d rather like to visit for a while...”

The little fungi esk takes over: “But we can’t stop now! Can you hear it? It’s just like before!”

The magic of a shrine’s call for help is faint, but unavoidable; the looming walls allow it to echo over and over, bouncing along the hollow chasm to reach them, and the river below seems to sing with it as it spills over loose stones and sand, dragging the enchantment along with the current. The atmosphere is still so far down, away from whatever winds howl up on the surface, and though it can’t participate, it watches with an air of anticipation. Everything is holding its breath, the thrum of echoing magic like inescapable beats of a heart, thudding faster and faster with the hope and suspense. These arid mountains know that the three esk had helped the previous shrines, and they are pleading for their turn.

As much as Flicker would welcome a break and time to explore a biome unknown to her, she is a puppet to the beckoning and her legs start moving before she realises. Cirocco takes a leap as she passes and lands primly upon her gold flecked back beside his friend. They travel upstream of course, to where the river and magic originates, enjoying the sun kissed water swirling about her legs and keeping the gritty sand from staying to scratch at her paws.

Along the way they are joined by creatures of the desert; little brown lizards at first, beady eyes watching from the undergrowth before scuttling forward; a snake that appears at some point and darts from rock to rock, barely visible for seconds at a time; a pair of wild sheep with huge curling horns totter along the outcropping rock above their heads, and further above them are yapping coyotes that play at the cliff edge. After a long walk along the meandering ravine, the esk are startled by a magnificent eagle taking off from ahead with a caw, and it swoops low and banks to the side and disappears into a patch of darkness.

The darkness is a cave. The walls of the ravine are choppier now, several sections having fallen to create a passage up to the desert above, and other parts have created arches and overhangs. The river echoes ever louder, tumbling over bigger rocks and splashing into a wider pool, and is surrounded by a garden of arid plants that have settled around the circumference of the cave. The water acts as a mirror to reflect the full sunlight inside in an attempt to light the cavern up, and it must work for so much vegetation to thrive.

And at the far side of the grotto, below the eagle featuring with its huge wingspan, is a crumbling shrine emitting weak bursts of melodic, golden magic.

Button and Cirocco cheer and clamber down to the rocky ground, and then the trio bound their way across - Flicker as the crow flies, heedless of the water soaking her, and the little ones leaping between dry stepping stones that peek out of the lake’s surface. All three have drooping fur when they arrive and they shake like dogs in tandem before coming forward to ring the shattered token.

As practised as they are now, it takes but a second to simultaneously press their noses to the pieces and extend their spirits, weaving the shrine’s tattered magic like a crochet masterpiece. The pieces of tan stone rejoin to form a bird, kintsugi wings tucked away and standing as proud as the eagle that watches over them, and it lifts to sit back on its pedestal. As the glowing magic fades, the esk glance behind themselves to see that the effects have not: not only do they feel more refreshed and energetic than they had since before these mysterious quests, but the canyon around them has lit up with joy. The animals peering through the entrance dance away, back to their own business, content with the result, and what the esk can see of the winding ravine has bloomed with greenery and flowers and succulents brighter than before. The air feels looser and relaxed, anticipation turned to tranquility, and the river bubbles harmoniously with the swirling sands and pebbles.

Flicker finally relaxes from her tense posture, her body and soul weary from the demanding magics, but the feeling of pride swells within her heart and she can’t help but nuzzle her two companions in fond gratefulness.

Anticipating being whisked away again, Button soon enlists Cirocco’s help once more in finding the perfect trinket to take home with him. He tells the snowy white esk about the warm hollow he made years ago in an old tree, and of the many treasures he arranges within its crevices that had been brought from all over. Cirocco listens kindly as they nose through shiny sand crystals and glossy stones from the riverbed.

Flicker herself makes the most of their remaining time in the tepid desert canyon by examining the plant species around her. The succulents are particularly beautiful, all soft petals and squidgy green-pink leaves bursting with saved up water. She oh so carefully nips a leaf off of a large, healthy specimen of each type and tucks them away in the long tangle of fur on her neck. There are houses in her boundary that are well sheltered but still allow sunlight in through unbroken windows, or perhaps she’ll ask her little Babika to share a spot in her greenhouses to grow the arid plants.

Just as she finishes, her two dainty friends gasp in delight as they unearth a selection of pebbles from the water beside a tiny waterfall, all different colours and each with an imprint of an ancient creature carved on their surface. They sort them fastidiously and finally choose a pale stone with a feather print that is then tucked delicately beside the striped pebble and tiny pine cone.

They’ve saved three mountain shrines from being left forgotten and broken, and rejuvenated the wilting lands that they were made to protect, and it feels good to do good.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Base Score: 32 AP (Writing: 1649 words)  
> +5 AP (Personal Work Bonus)  
> +20 AP (Other Esk Bonus: 10 AP * 2)  
> +25 AP (Event Bonus)  
> +30 AP (Esk Interaction Bonus: 10 AP * 3)  
> +16 AP (Storyteller Bonus: 8 AP * 2)  
> Total AP per submission: 128
> 
> Base Score: 16 GP (Writing: 1649 words)  
> +12 GP (Event Bonus)  
> +12 GP (Storyteller Bonus: 6 GP * 2)  
> Total GP per submission: 40
> 
> 5AP/2GP biome bonus   
>  15AP/8GP quest bonus   
>  5AP/2GP challenge bonus


	4. the Confrontation

The remaining light of the sunset, a swirl of pink and orange hues that tint the cave beautifully, brightens over time.

Flicker doesn’t realise until the little esk finish their exploring and then stand expectantly, waiting for the pull of forced teleportation that has been dragging them from mountain to mountain. She looks inward for the ribbon of magic that ties her to her boundary, not ready to leave without saying goodbye but wondering at the length of time they’d been left in the canyon. It hums back to her as always, but resists her touch - something is blocking it, perhaps the left over magic from the shrine, perhaps the mysterious entity that pulled her along on this mission in the first place. As Button and Cirocco exclaim similar findings, Flicker looks around to the cave’s entrance where they’d made their way in from the long, snaking ravine, and finds it clouded with misty white light.

The sun was setting on their journey, she is sure of it, and it should be past dusk and darkening to nighttime now - the only white glow should be from the tiny, far away flickering stars and the closer, bigger moon, though even then it’s due to be a crescent moon which can’t possible reflect enough light to brighten the whole cavern! Had they spent all evening and night in there, distracted by the shrine’s pleas and then the pretty scenery of the desert biome?

“I’ll go and inspect it,” says Cirocco, bravely. “Perhaps it’s torchlight, from exploring humans?”

Button scrambles to join his buddy and loudly whispers, “Or it might be another of us, with an enchantment to lure us into the dark!”

The tiny dog violet esk harrumphs in exasperation and disagrees vocally. They end up racing to the tall opening, throwing themselves over high stones and through the river’s shallows with abandon, and then both skid to a stop before actually emerging.

Flicker, who’s long strides of trot take her at equal pace to the little ones’ gallop, hops neatly over them as they halt abruptly before her, and walks out into the iridescent light with quiet confidence, recognising the phenomenon. “It’s neither, silly esk! Come along,” she tosses over her shoulder, and the whiteness swallows her up.

As expected, she finds the mist a brisk cool in comparison to the desert heat, and feels it whisk her away in a tug of magic. Button and Cirocco are a step behind her and tumble out gracelessly.

It’s once more a mountain peak. It’s got no sense of polar biome winds and so foliage grows heartily, and the snow is patchy and only unmelted at the uppermost tips of rock. The sky is once again the dregs of a sunset with stars gleaming down at the three esk, cloudless and clear. The air is thin, as is the norm for this elevation, but also pure - not only the unpolluted freshness of the undeveloped wilds, but as if it’s being filtered and renewed constantly.

The brown esk wanders the mountaintop, posing on precarious edges for a view of the distant, breathtaking panorama. Her flecks shrine in the low lighting. At her feet, among the delicate fireweed, harebell, and violet blossoms, Cirocco observes too - he seems particularly joyful to be back among his homeland, the white peaks familiar territory for him and matching his pale fur; even his grayscale, striped tail blends in with the streaks of grey granite that are visible between leaves and snowdrifts.

Button, in the meantime, digs amongst the vegetation for anything of interest, and soon finds himself on a soft patch of moss and lichen that blankets a boulder so huge that he wavers at the brink, dizzy at the height.

“Uhh, Flicker,” he calls, determinedly not frantic, “maybe perhaps you could help me for a second please?”

Flicker turns and takes in the situation, and then hides her laughter as she directs her small friend to jump from rock to rock, gradually smaller until he can reach the earth again. She ducks under a massive, jagged rock that hovers nearby to touch noses with him, and then guides him over to a cluster of flowers at ground level.

Cirocco then instantly catches their attention with a breathless deadpan: “That rock is floating. You just walked under a floating rock, Flicker.”

And he is right; one of the humongous boulders hovers perfectly still a metre from the grassy mountainside underneath it, and the sky shines all around it where it isn’t leaning against anything nearby. Not too far from it is another, smaller but not by much, rounder instead of pointed, levitating inches of the ground so Cirocco could see right under it from his low viewpoint.

Flicker takes a step back and considers the landscape. Just a bit further along is another stone, rounded, clean, with a touch of moss at the top, and now that she’s suspicious she can tell that it looks out of place - it has nowhere to have fallen from, up so high as they are, so how did it become placed nearly at the peak of the mountain? Again, next to it is another, and another, and another, and they form a long line of misshapen spires... or perhaps spines, like of a dinosaur that the world has nearly forgotten (but eternal spirits still remember).

She squints at the optical illusion, trying to refocus her eyes and convince them that they’re not seeing everything, and she can feel the observant Cirocco doing the same beside her.

In a sudden, jarring movement, the whole mountain shifts. Clouded eyes open fully and no longer look like shadows on the cliff side as the giant head swings round to look at them. The snow streaked rocks become a white body with black markings, and the immense shards of dolerite ripple along its spine. Above the creature’s defined brow (that they’d thought was a cliff ledge), a tuft of cloud rematerialises as an ethereal halo that is the source of the wondrously pure air; an elemental ability.

The esk moves in slow motion upon impossibly thick legs to reposition for a better angle. Their most prominent nature feature sways like a long tail, held up off the ground and acting as if the boulders are connected vertebrae, and drifts leisurely over their audience’s heads to settle on the next mountain across with a great clash of noise that causes an area of snow nearby to dislodge and slide down and away.

Flicker, Cirocco, and Button watch the spectacle in speechless wonder (and only a little touch of fear). This great spirit can only be Raaga, the Wanderer of the mountain biome, and perhaps the most mysterious of them all. There are tales spread among esk in the conservatory and gatherings of how he hides away, awaiting only the bravest and strongest to complete a dangerous trial to earn his favour. There are fellowships of mountain spirits that seek him endlessly and are forever rebuffed, and others who have met him and spread Raaga’s rare words of indecipherable wisdom as if only they can understand it.

To Flicker, the ancient esk appears solitary and apathetic about the affairs of others, and she has held no interest in seeking his well hidden presence. But the events of the day are related by this Wanderer’s home biome, and as he holds his head within comfortable distance for trading telepathic words, his expression as he looks upon the relatively minuscule trio is not one of anger or hostility, but mild fascination.

When he finally speaks, it is with a rough, grumbling voice that echoes tumbling stones and grinding rocks, but it is gentle and kind in tone.

"You have been on quite the journey. I do not know what took you to those shrines; it was not me."

Flicker and her two companions cower slightly under the piercing, interrogative gaze. Raaga contemplates for a long minute that they daren’t interrupt, but seems to dismiss the enigma for another day’s thought. He does not ask their opinion on the matter.

"I do not know what your intentions were, but you have greatly affected my mountains, strangers.”

Flicker steps forward, away from the tiny forms of her friends, and draws his attention. She is scruffy after hours of inelegant teleporting, travel across all terrain, and selflessly spending her powers, lacks the glorious iris that usually sits magnificently at her wither, and has clumps of succulent petals sticking haphazardly from her ruff. She stands tall regardless, proud and with nothing to hide.

“They needed help, and it was within my abilities to aid them. I couldn’t turn away and I did not want to.” Her mind flits back to the sorry sights of the shrines before the party had fixed them - wilting flowers and deadened leaves struggling in horrific conditions - and she shows the Wanderer a glimpse of them. “My very purpose is to protect nature, to help her thrive and encourage her growth. Shrines, places of worship... I don’t know much of Gods other than those of us who act as them, but protecting their altars is only respectful. If I can help, I will give my all.”

The great mountain esk tilts his head slowly, as if mulling her words over in his mind, and seems not to find them wanting. He dips his chin slightly, and then leans forward incrementally to better see the two tiny esk that stand at Flicker’s sides.

“And the two of you?” he asks, his voice a deep rumble.

Cirocco comes forward first and says his piece, eyes wide and reverent at the sight of his biome’s first inhabitant. He stutters through his speech and ends with a bow, but can’t tear his eyes away from Raaga even as he backs up to sit at Flicker’s wrist again.

Button is less in awe but considerably more nervous, being barely bigger than a single moss flower on Raaga’s dolerite spine. He speaks quickly, tripping over his words, but stands stiller than Flicker has ever seen the fidgety esk. When he finishes he scampers eagerly back behind her foreleg.

The mountain biome wanderer lifts his head high into the clear sky. At such a distance he appears faded like the far away mountains behind him. There is a long moment of silence, but then he speaks once more.

“Then I give my thanks to you, and so do the mountains.”

He hasn’t been generous with his words for the whole encounter, which Flicker imagines is par for the course for him, but he also seems to speak only when it is of importance and each word holds weight. His final words end in a burst of magic that comes from the world around them and encompasses the three small esk, gentle breeze curling lovingly through their fur, soft lichen hugging their paws. A blessing forms: the gratefulness of the mountain biome coalesced into a warm wisp on her very soul, which Flicker knows will grant her a kind welcome any time she steps foot back on a mountain.

Beyond the peak they stand on, Flicker watches as Raaga slowly ambles away over the towering mountains that are merely large steps for an esk of his size. He does not glance back, but a fresh breath of air seems to follow her as she turns to leave as well.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Base Score: 38 AP (Writing: 1900 words)  
> +5 AP (Personal Work Bonus)  
> +20 AP (Other Esk Bonus: 10 AP * 2)  
> +20 AP (NPC Bonus)  
> +25 AP (Event Bonus)  
> +30 AP (Esk Interaction Bonus: 10 AP * 3)  
> +16 AP (Storyteller Bonus: 8 AP * 2)  
> Total AP per submission: 154
> 
> Base Score: 19 GP (Writing: 1900 words)  
> +12 GP (Event Bonus)  
> +12 GP (Storyteller Bonus: 6 GP * 2)  
> Total GP per submission: 43
> 
> 5AP/2GP biome bonus   
>  15AP/8GP quest bonus   
>  5AP/2GP challenge bonus


End file.
